Ji Ruhua was dumbfounded.
Did well-bred young ladies really go this wild?
In broad daylight, under the blazing sun, right in front of everyone...
System: [Host, you're awesome! This Ji Ruhua always loved arranging gatherings and throwing girls who had just entered the brothel into a pack of wolves. Now she's getting her just deserts!] [But you're not really going to make her perform her special talents, are you? You'll get a stye from watching!]
Was she someone with such wide-ranging interests?
Jiang Shuyue hissed impatiently. "Hey, you're a mere concubine, yet you don't bow when you see me and just stand there dawdling. Is it me you hold in contempt, or the Marquis’s Residence?"
"What are you saying, Sister? I simply never expected a well-bred young lady like you to be even more... than a woman from a brothel. Hehe, I wonder how the marquis would react if he knew."
Ji Ruhua was genuinely getting anxious.
Consort Shu had ordered her to sow discord in the household, but several days had passed, and she had yet to even see the marquis. If she couldn't provoke Jiang Shuyue into acting today, who knew how much longer she would have to wait?
Ji Ruhua's taunts grew increasingly brazen. "Honestly, the marquis is the God of War of Great Zhou, yet he's still being pushed around and can't do as he pleases. How pitiful."
"My husband holds immense power and status. What makes you think a thing like you has any right to pity him?"
"You!"
"What about me? You ill-mannered thing! I spend every night with the marquis. Naturally, he knows exactly what I'm like. But you-it's been two days since you arrived, hasn't it? Have you actually seen him? Can you tell me how many hairs he has on his head?"
Ji Ruhua wanted to curse her out.
Even if she had seen Zhou Yunshen, how could she possibly know how many hairs he had on his head?
Ji Ruhua huffed. "You talk as if you know the marquis so well. You're nothing but a substitute bride. Don't think so highly of yourself."
"Guards! This woman has disrespected me. Beat her mouth to a pulp!"
Several servants rushed out from somewhere and pinned Ji Ruhua to the ground. Two resounding slaps sent one of her front teeth flying into Jiang Shuyue's teacup.
System: [I forgot to tell you: Ji Ruhua hasn't brushed her teeth in two years. She doesn't usually rinse her mouth, either. Her teeth probably aren't clean.]
This cup of tea sure had a strong flavor...
Jiang Shuyue pushed the cup a little farther away. Only when Ji Ruhua's face looked twice its original size did she leisurely order them to stop.
"I called you Sister, and you actually thought you were my sister? Stop gilding your own face."
"I'm Conshort Shu's pershon!"
"That lisp sounds awful! But from your tone earlier, you seem to know quite a lot about brothels. I remember there's a place called Ten Thousand Flowers House, right? Do any of you know what that place does?"
The servants all shook their heads.
Even if they knew, they couldn't say so. If the marquis blamed them, who could bear the consequences?
Jiang Shuyue looked rather disappointed. "You don't know? Neither do I. Let's send this beauty to have a look for me first. If it's nice, I'll invite the marquis to go with me another day."
System: [I think the Great Villain might break your legs.] Jiang Shuyue: [Relax. He might look fierce and have a rather bad temper, but he's a wonderful person. He wouldn't have the heart to hit me.]
The servants broke into embarrassed sweats. Their mistress seemed to have some misunderstanding about the marquis...
"I won't... ah!"
Jiang Shuyue hurled a teacup at Ji Ruhua's forehead, knocking her unconscious with a single blow.
"She looked pretty sturdy. Who knew she couldn't take even one hit? Send her away."
System: [Host, she belongs to Consort Shu. Aren't you afraid Consort Shu will use this as an excuse to make trouble?] [It's fine. If she dares come after me, I'll spill some explosive gossip. Search Consort Shu thoroughly for me. Dig up every last secret.]
Consort Shu let out an enormous sneeze in her bedchamber.
Her maid was badly startled and hurried to offer her a tissue, but Consort Shu waved her away.
"How is the woman we sent over doing? Has there been any word today?"
"In reply to Your Highness, she hasn't sent word yet. Perhaps she's been having such a vigorous time with the marquis that she hasn't had a chance."
Consort Shu curled her lips. "She does have some skill. It looks like it won't be long before she drives a wedge between them. All that nonsense about husband and wife sharing one heart is nothing but hot air. What man doesn't love the new and tire of the old?"
The maid lowered her head in agreement. "You're absolutely right, Your Highness! Miss Ruhua isn't just beautiful-she's the treasure of Ten Thousand Flowers House. With her on the job, victory is assured the moment her horse arrives."
"Your Highness, terrible news! Ruhua, she..."
"Insolence!"
The maid slapped the eunuch across the face. "How dare you behave so brazenly before Her Highness? Curse her again, and you can kiss your tongue goodbye."
The young eunuch knocked his head against the floor with loud cracks. "I've erred! I know my mistake! Please punish me, Your Highness!"
"Enough. What were you saying about Ruhua?"
"R-Ruhua has been sent to a whorehouse!"
"What?"
A piece of fruit lodged in Consort Shu's throat, nearly costing her life.
The maid grabbed her waistband and finally managed to save her. Consort Shu roared, "Although Ruhua was planted by me, officially she was sent by the emperor! How dare the Marquis’s Residence do this?"
"I wouldn't dare deceive you. I saw Ruhua being taken inside with my own eyes."
How dare that bitch!
"I'm going to see His Majesty!"
The system's gossip antenna quivered, and it kindly offered a live report. [Consort Shu went to the emperor over this. He silenced her with a single question and even docked three months of her allowance.]
[What question?] [The emperor: Even I didn't know what happened in the Marquis’s Residence. How did you, a woman deep within the inner palace, learn of it?]
Jiang Shuyue laughed on her bed without a shred of decorum. "Haha, serves her right! Interference by imperial relatives and eunuchs is one of the emperor's greatest taboos. Consort Shu's hand has stretched so far-this punishment is lenient."
[Consort Shu smashed up her bedchamber in a rage and used a little leather whip to beat two maids until their backsides blossomed with wounds. Those poor girls! What a sin!] Jiang Shuyue: [No wonder Consort Shu sought out Ji Ruhua. Their interests fit together perfectly. I'll pay to send her on a tour of a whorehouse someday.]
The system thought Consort Shu probably wouldn't appreciate the gesture, but who cared?
She wasn't much of a person, but her gossip was truly delicious. It could hardly wait for the day they entered the palace and spilled all those juicy secrets!
Jiang Shuyue was looking forward to it, too.
After today's showdown, she was still ten Green Tea Points short. Ji Ruhua's attacks weren't even as strong as Jiang Liuli's. How utterly frustrating.
Those concubines were even more frustrating. Apart from Baili Dong, who hadn't come, they all wore cheerful smiles. Whatever she said, they nodded and bowed like meek little wives, until she lost all interest in bullying them.
It looked like she would have to target the Imperial Palace to save up enough Green Tea Points.
Jiang Shuyue rummaged through a chest and pulled out a small riding whip, toying with it in her hand.
"It fits my hand pretty well. Little Peach, go find me a hundred of these, and get me a few skilled craftsmen. I want to add some decorations to these little leather whips."
Little Peach suddenly felt a chill.
She always felt that nothing good could come of her mistress smiling.
Especially today, when her smile looked particularly sleazy.
She had a feeling Consort Shu was in for some bad luck!
The system was intensely curious. [Host, what do you want those for? Are you going to learn to ride?]
Jiang Shuyue shook her head. [Of course not. Doesn't Consort Shu like little leather whips? I'll give her a whole batch-enough to last her a lifetime!]
Before you continue